Anyone removed clutch fan and replaced with electric?

[civdiv99]

I do! I didn't associate it first. Got a touch of the CRS last winter; haven't quite shaken it I guess!

Originally Posted by fmugur

first of all, it supposed to be "I wouldn't put the clutch fan back ..." I will correct it in the post.

You must remember when I capture with the oscilloscope the signaling for the pusher fan and send it to you. My goal was to have the pusher fan coming on when the transmission temperature was going higher as I had the external tranny cooler in front of the radiator as you do. I never got around to get a module to do that so to trick the ECU I added a resistor in parallel with the input temp sensor to have the pusher fan moving more air through the tranny cooler. The clutch fan wasn't moving enough air through the external tranny cooler as the pusher fan and having air moving through the radiator the pusher fan was barely meeting the conditions to come on. I tested the n62 electric fan on m62 as I was planning to install one to get more room in the front of the radiator so I could have the external cooler with its own electric fan. I sold the car before to accomplish this though.

[bcredliner]

bmw540san. Yes, the aux fan in front of the radiator is a pusher fan. It is my understanding the aux fan is triggered by radiator temp and the air conditioning read by controller.

Once I remove the clutch fan I would attach the aftermarket puller fan to the radiator, leaving the shroud in place. With the PWM controller on the puller fan the result should be that the pusher fan will not get a signal that turns it on or it will be on less. Since I don't know how much air the clutch fan pulls when it is at full lock, the aftermarket fan would need to be a high rated CFM fan.

The only reason to do this is to increase horsepower due to less drag on the engine. If it doesn't do that I have no reason to make the change. I have done this for many years and always felt it was worth the expense but I am only guessing it increases HP on and X5. Depending on the radiator coverage by the aftermarket fan I may go with the aluminum plate to be sure the fan is drawing all the air it can.

I really appreciate your input.

[m5james]

Originally Posted by ants_oz

Why? Maybe he's TRYING to induce and engine overheat so he can rebuild it and throw a whole bunch of money at it...

If he does that, he's on the right track.

[m5james]

Originally Posted by fmugur

I drove mine without the clutch fan for a couple of years and you can feel a difference. I wouldn't put the clutch fan back on but I am in An area where the outside temperature rarely goes above 90F.
I also tested a facelifted electric fan on the m62 engine harness and it works as the pusher fan. The electric fan on the n62 as well as the pusher fan on m62 come on when the difference between input and output radiator temperature is too small. That's beside the AC function.
I am pretty sure it will fit perfect if I remember right. Just make sure when you buy the n62 electric fan get the harness connector from the donor car as well so you can retrofit it properly.

My fan clutch seized on my E34 M5 and I stupidly drove the car one night without the clutch on. I got stuck in traffic and then one time I happened to not be starring at the needle and the engine was already overheating. Deleting the fan clutch completely is a common mod on the E36 forums, but they're using a much lighter vehicle, not a 5500lb SUV.

I've only talked about it briefly on the Bimmerforums link I posted. Are you saying the efan came on when the aux fan was off?

[m5james]

Originally Posted by Helihover

@ James
Please inform yourself better before making a stupid coment like that. Your only flexing your ignorance on a subject you obviously have no clue about.

@ ants
Please reframe from stupid ass comments, like the above, on a subject your obviously ignorant about. Following someone else's stupidity will only make you an ass. Cheers

The only ignorant person here is yourself. I'm speaking from experience in both my E34 M5 as well as my E38 740iL. Going completely fanless is stupid, there's a reason why the fan is there. Just because someone gets away with it for a while doesn't mean it's a smart idea in the long term. By all means, remove your fan from an engine that runs at 220+* and let me know how that works out for you.

[m5james]

Originally Posted by fmugur

I was referring to this fan in the back of your radiator as the facelift model has.
If you install that there is no need for the pusher fan and it can be removed.

So this drops right in, no issues? Just so I'm clear, you're also saying you removed the pusher fan, installed this puller fan, and then wired this puller fan into the harness of what used to run the pusher? I'd just wonder if that provided enough cooling based on what commands it to turn on. Why remove the pusher fan, it's not like it's in the way.

[PropellerHead]

I did this on my E39 as well, but I went a step further. No more plastic radiator problems in that thing. The 4.8is is not belt driven as it is, but should the radi fail in it, I am going with another one of these for the X5. It's a Zionsville:

[ants_oz]

Haven't found any issues by effectively encapsulating 1/3 of the free-flow surface area? Brain dump... Was mulling over the benefits of forced extraction of air through the fan, versus free flow through (for example) orifices cut in the back face of the...um...duct??? Yeah, duct will do. But by cutting holes you would lose "suction" efficiency when the fan is operational. Anyone got some fluid dynamics tools to model it?

It's a mighty tidy looking setup and some real neat looking welding too. Bloody lovely piece of kit actually.

[bcredliner]

I'm done with my research. I was not able to find the CFM of the existing clutch fan. I am going to remove the clutch fan and replace it with a Spal curved blade puller fan that is rated at 2,500 CFM. It will be mounted on the radiator and within the existing fan shroud. It will be activated by the ignition. It will run all the time, no thermostat or speed controller.

[m5james]

Originally Posted by PropellerHead

I did this on my E39 as well, but I went a step further. No more plastic radiator problems in that thing. The 4.8is is not belt driven as it is, but should the radi fail in it, I am going with another one of these for the X5. It's a Zionsville:

As nice as that is, it's just too expensive to justify the costs vs doing the setup in the link I proved. All aluminum is nice, but as much as we hate them, expansion within the plastic end tanks on the stock radiator will absorb that expansion. If going all aluminum, I'd suggest Evans coolant while you're at it to prevent the expansion problem.